Shrimp and Bacon Linguine

Shrimp and bacon, bacon and shrimp.  There's no question how delicious that combo is.  I enjoyed it for the first time on Shrimp BLT's and a second time on Shrimp BLT's a couple years ago.  Why, oh why, did it never occur to me to try the combo over pasta?

That's right, I'm not at all creative.

Looking for something new to do with the shrimp in the freezer, I stumbled across a recipe for Shrimp and Bacon Linguine. 

Before I proceed, click the link immediately below and gaze at the beautiful image. 


Do it. I'm telling you right now you're life is not complete until you do. 


Go, now.


When you get back, you'll see a play-by-play on how the recipe worked out for me. 


GO!


Shrimp and Bacon Linguine
adapted from Life's Ambrosia

1 lb dry linguine
6-8 slices bacon, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c dry Noilly Prat
1 lb (51-60 count) jumbo shrimp, peeled and deviened
1/4 c chopped parsley
kosher salt as necessary

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Once browned, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon drippings.

I thought pouring the drippings from the skillet without scraping with a spatula would yield about 1 tbsp.

In the same pan combine reserved bacon drippings and olive oil.

Add onions and garlic. Cook 5 minutes or until softened.

Pour in Noilly Prat, cook 1 minute.

Add shrimp and cook until opaque and cooked through, about 3 – 4 minutes.

Add cooked pasta*, bacon and chopped parsley to shrimp. Toss to combine; season to taste with salt as necessary.

*Reserve some of the pasta water, just in case!  See additional info below.


Execution of the recipe was not difficult.  As usual, the hardest part for me is the shrimp deveining.  I mentioned before that Rodney is quite particular about removing both the veins, not just the big one on the back side.  That was my fault for playing biologist and mentioning that the smaller one is present. 

Note: if you, as the household cook, have no problem with the small vein never mention there are two veins.  The people you feed will only look to see that it has indeed been cleaned out when otherwise they'd just happily eat the shrimp, little vein and all.

While the flavors should have been outstanding, my bacon was bland. I questioned the integrity of the bacon I used as it was an open package from a couple, possibly few, weeks earlier.  This is a perfect example of why chefs and better cooks than I tout fresh ingredients.  What could have been an exemplary dish was mediocre due to a single poor ingredient.

Outside the deveining hassle and bland bacon, my pasta was cooked before I was ready to add it to the shrimp.  That meant it sat in the colander, drying out, leaving the entire dish on the dry side.  From now on, I will always, always, always! reserve some of the pasta water.

Will I make this again? I have to! With a better attitude about deveining, fresher bacon and some reserved pasta water.  I guarantee it.  When I do, you'll know how it turns out, I swear.

Cost:

• linguine: $0.99
• bacon: $1.27
• onion: $0.20
• Noilly Prat: $0.20
• jumbo shrimp: $4.50
• parsley: $0.15

Total: $7.31 or $1.83 for each of four servings.

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